Seashells Early Years Centre, Preschool

In September 2022, geodome climbing and water experiments with pipettes gave Seashells a recognisable preschool character. In September 2022, children practised physical skills and tested ideas through play, with everyday activities providing opportunities to count, share and solve problems.

Seashells Early Years Centre, Preschool has 50 places in total at East Cowes Family Centre and accepts children aged 37 to 59 months. At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective.

The early years foundation stage brings learning, development and care together: children build skills through play alongside support for their wellbeing. In September 2022, mathematics was woven into familiar activities, including counting during hide-and-seek and identifying shapes while drawing houses. Numbers had a practical purpose.

Water play supplied another example that month. Children used pipettes and pipes to investigate how much water would move toy animals, explaining their ideas as they experimented. The activity combined handling equipment with testing how much water would move the animals.

Physical challenge also featured in September 2022. Children climbed around the geodome and practised throwing and catching balls, while staff adjusted activities to individual needs and encouraged persistence. Music and movement gave children opportunities to choose rhymes and participate in one another’s favourites.

In September 2022, staff and families exchanged information regularly to help children settle. Relationships between children and staff were positive, and children used a sand timer to share a scooter fairly. That small practical tool made turn-taking easier to understand.

Safety was also part of children’s learning that month: helmets were required for scooters and bicycles, and children could explain their purpose. Staff received safeguarding training and understood how to report concerns.

The September 2022 improvement priorities concerned more detailed starting information about children’s speaking and listening, and staff development tailored more closely to individual learning needs. These points matter together: understanding a child’s starting point helps staff choose the support that child needs.

The address is East Cowes Family Centre, Beatrice Avenue, East Cowes, PO32 6PA. Opening hours are 7.45am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for bank holidays and the Christmas period.

In September 2022, the provision received early education funding for three- and four-year-olds.

• Starting information. September 2022 improvement priorities included a fuller picture of children’s communication skills. How are families’ observations now used when a child starts?
• Individual support. More precisely targeted staff development was another September 2022 priority. Ask how training is matched to a child’s particular learning needs.

Seashells suits families seeking preschool care with practical, play-based learning and an opening window extending beyond the usual working morning. Its September 2022 examples make the educational character clear: physical challenge, experiments and everyday mathematics. The improvement priorities give families useful questions about how individual support begins.